{"id":11566,"date":"2025-11-17T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=11566"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T04:24:37","slug":"review-billy-hart-multidirectional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-billy-hart-multidirectional\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Billy Hart\u2019s \u2018Multidirectional\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Over the past six months, several NEA Jazz Masters &#8211; all of them octogenarian, or close to &#8211; have released records that defy convention and obliterate preconceptions many may have about their work. The combination of age and the prestige of the prestigious NEA title is an enabler. Kenny Barron issued his first vocal album, <em>Songbook<\/em> (Artwork, 2025). <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?s=Gary+bartz\">Gary Bartz mined R&amp;B hits on <em>Damage Control<\/em> <\/a>(OYO, 2025). <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?s=george+coleman\">George Coleman recorded with strings<\/a>. For Billy \u201cJabali\u201d Hart, the drummer <em>Multidirectional<\/em> (Smoke Sessions, 2025) takes inspiration from the work of John Coltrane with Rashied Ali, particularly in terms of the latter\u2019s rhythmic unpredictability. What Hart calls \u201cmultidirectional,\u201d Coltrane deemed \u201ctwo directions at once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_FUYCgVznAD0\"><div id=\"lyte_FUYCgVznAD0\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/FUYCgVznAD0\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FUYCgVznAD0\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/FUYCgVznAD0\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">To be fair, freer playing is not new to the drummer. After all, he worked with Pharaoh Sanders in the halcyon days of Slugs\u2019 Saloon in NYC and his work with Mwandishi is hardly straight-ahead. But, the approach seemingly took some of the other artists on the record &#8211; tenor saxophonist&nbsp; Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street &#8211; by surprise. But the veterans of Hart\u2019s longstanding quartet have proven over the course of their own sideman and leader work that they are capable of navigating several directions at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The first live recording of Hart\u2019s longstanding quartet, <em>Multidirectiona<\/em>l kicks off with the leader\u2019s trademark mallets on \u201cSong for Balkis,\u2019 a tribute to his daughter that also opened his release, <em>All Our Reasons <\/em>(ECM, 2012)<em>.&nbsp; <\/em>The tune begins calmly and reflectively, before turning into controlled chaos, starting with Turner\u2019s reaching solo. The linkage to Coltrane becomes evident on the album\u2019s cover of the quintessential rite of passage for jazz soloists, 1960\u2019s \u201cGiant Steps.\u201d Iverson begins the piece with a rather minimalist and uneasy intro that provides no solid clues to the song. Only upon Turner\u2019s entry with the familiar melody does recognition take hold. The saxophonist solos brilliantly, escaping the trap of emulating Coltrane as so many other tenors and altoists have done in the past. That is not to say he ignores the original. Turner nods to it but doesn\u2019t play with the ferocity or spiritual reach of Trane. His is a quieter intensity that emerges as the piece evolves. His liquid clusters keep flowing over the bass and drums. Iverson, who has done little comping following his intro, jumps in with a swinging solo while Hart\u2019s snare beats and cymbal flourishes prod him on, to an unexpectedly abrupt close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=2584783305\/album=1502500263\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Turner\u2019s \u201cSonnet for Stevie\u201d is a mid-tempo swinger that appeared on Turner\u2019s release<em> Lathe of Heaven<\/em> (ECM, 2014). It presents snippets of blues even as the song keeps  shifting. The synergy between Street\u2019s bass line and Iverson\u2019s solo is especially noteworthy with piano notes seemingly an extension of what Street lays down. Meanwhile, Hart changes up his patterns as he pushes the pianist into more animated runs. Turner\u2019s return puts the saxophonist\u2019s range and dynamics on vivid display as he engages in a feisty dialogue with the leader in the last two minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The most striking example of the quartet\u2019s freeform approach is present on \u201cAmethyst,\u201d the title track of Hart\u2019s album of the same name (Arabesque, 1993). There is no recognizable tempo, rhythm, or theme. Instead, the piece plays out improvisationally through Turner\u2019s cutting, articulate lines as the rhythm section drives him forward. At times, Iverson\u2019s comping sounds atonal, but his solo dances gleefully. The band plays with an immense level of flexibility live but, as Nate Chinen points out in the liner notes, there is no precedent for this approach in the quartet\u2019s discography. Listen to the last minute and a half where Hart establishes a rhythmic groove even as the other quartet members insist on adhering to their own directions. Iverson\u2019s ballad \u201cShowdown,\u201d which opened the quartet\u2019s immediately preceding studio album,<em> Just<\/em> (ECM, 2025)<em>,<\/em> closes the engaged set. It is a showcase for Turner\u2019s advanced lyricism and Hart\u2019s famed sensitive brushwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=385143500\/album=1502500263\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">As with so many of his contemporary NEA Jazz Masters, Hart could easily rest on his laurels and propagate his prior works but instead remains curious and ever searching. With Thanksgiving near, we should be thankful for such masters\u2019 continued exploratory contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u2018Multidirectional\u2019 will be released on Smoke Sessions on November 21, 2025. It can be <a href=\"https:\/\/billyhart.bandcamp.com\/album\/multidirectional\">purchased on Bandcamp.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo credit: Desmond White<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past six months, several NEA Jazz Masters &#8211; all of them octogenarian, or close to &#8211; have released records that defy convention and obliterate preconceptions many may have about their work. The combination of age and the prestige of the prestigious NEA title is an enabler. Kenny Barron issued his first vocal album, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":11569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":99,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Review: Billy Hart\u2019s \u2018Multidirectional\u2019","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1412,1413,1415,1414,1416],"class_list":["post-11566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-billy-hart","tag-jabali","tag-live-recording","tag-multidirectional","tag-quartet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_2579.jpg?fit=1008%2C672&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-30y","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11594,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-john-ogallagher-ancestral\/","url_meta":{"origin":11566,"position":0},"title":"Review: John O&#8217;Gallagher&#8217;s &#8216;Ancestral&#8217;","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"November 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"With Ancestral (Whirlwind, 2025), alto saxophonist and composer John O'Gallagher explores the late-period work of John Coltrane, specifically Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1974) and Stellar Regions (Impulse!, 1995). These examinations build upon O\u2019Gallagher\u2019s doctoral work, which argues that so-called \u201cfree\u201d music is not actually free as the term is commonly used.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014970438_10.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014970438_10.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014970438_10.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014970438_10.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5473,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/singing-billy-harper-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":11566,"position":1},"title":"Singing Through the Horn: A Conversation with Billy Harper (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"December 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The lineage of jazz has long drawn upon ideas from gospel music, whether Louis Armstrong\u2019s presentation of spirituals or Duke Ellington's or Mary Lou Williams\u2019 sacred music compositions. However, to some, the connection between faith-based songs and contemporary improvised music seems more tenuous. Artists are more likely to find a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bily-harper-e1636038607799-1350x1276-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bily-harper-e1636038607799-1350x1276-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bily-harper-e1636038607799-1350x1276-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bily-harper-e1636038607799-1350x1276-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/bily-harper-e1636038607799-1350x1276-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11454,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-stargazer-donelian\/","url_meta":{"origin":11566,"position":2},"title":"Review: Armen Donelian\u2019s \u2018Stargazer\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"October 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Stargazer (Sunnyside, 2025) is a reissue of an album by a trio of pianist Armen Donelian with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Billy Hart that first appeared forty-five years ago, in 1980. 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Across a broad spectrum from hip-hop to chamber, a series of new releases have provided significant moving, relevant, and pointed commentary. Another excellent new album\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/f231e6a73953fa022cb89db763ef510502052682-e1599321343900.jpg?fit=750%2C501&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/f231e6a73953fa022cb89db763ef510502052682-e1599321343900.jpg?fit=750%2C501&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/f231e6a73953fa022cb89db763ef510502052682-e1599321343900.jpg?fit=750%2C501&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/f231e6a73953fa022cb89db763ef510502052682-e1599321343900.jpg?fit=750%2C501&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11566"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11580,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11566\/revisions\/11580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}